Although no details have been confirmed on the plot, it is thought Mitchell will turn to author L. Frank Baum's story 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' for inspiration.

However, he will be unable to use any of the iconic items from the original film, such as Dorothy's ruby slippers, as company Warner Bros. own the rights to the original 1939 feature.

Sam admitted he was initially ''intimidated'' by the script for 'Oz the Great and Powerful' because of how fans would react to his version of the iconic story, but was keen to do it justice.

He said: ''I was intimidated, I was actually very frightened to approach the project because there's so much love for the original 'Wizard of Oz' and people don't want their warm feelings towards this great classic ... they don't want someone stepping in their fondest memories of their childhood.

''That's why I stayed away from the script at first and later when it came time to find a writer for another project, the script came across my desk and I thought, 'Oh I'll read it'. Just because I'm looking for a good writer. And I fell in love with the story.''